Automatic release



Sept. 16, 1930. F. CLARK AUTOMATIC RELEASE Filed March 21, 1928 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 16, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK CLARK, OF ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ALASKA PACKERS AS- SOCIATION, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPGRATION OF CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC RELEASE Application filed March 21, 1928. Serial No. 263,554.

' disclosed in my copending application entitled Can filling machine, filed January In the application referred to I have disclosed'a can filling machine wherein a can is delivered to a filling station by a reciprocable can carriage operated by a box cam. At the filling station the can receives a charge of fish and the carriage is operated to remove the can from the filling station and discharge it from the machine. The cam which operates the carriage is driven in timed relation with other operations such as delivering the fish to acompression chamber, compressing the fish and transferring the fish from the compression chamber to the can. It sometimes occurs that a can is improperly delivered to the carriage or the can jams before it reaches the filling station. When the carriage is positively operated such an occurrence results in injury to the machine and usually places it out of commission until suitable repairs can be made.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a connecting device for connecting a can carriage or similar mecha-' nism to its operating medium, which connecting device is normally capable of transmitting a drive to the carriage but will automatically become inefiective when the resistance of the carriage to be driven is abnormal and automatically regains its effectiveness when the resistance of the carriage to operation returns to normal.

In carrying out this object into practice I,

fered by the carriage to operation is abnormal.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the ac companying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a can filling -machine showing my invention applied thereto.

Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the connecting member between the can carriage and its cam showing the connecting member in opened and closed position.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, 10 indicates the frame of a can filling machine. The operation of this can filling machine and its construction will not be described as it may be readily obtained from the prior application herein mentioned.

It will sufiice to state that this machine comprises a can feeding mechanism 12 adapted to intermittently feed cans to a reciprocable can carriage 14: guided for reciprocating movement on the frame of the machine. This can carriage on its inner stroke is adapted to deliver a can to a filling station indicated by the numeral 15 where the can is arranged over a guide 16 in alignment with a compression chamber. A plunger 17 passes through this compression chamber and delivers a charge of fish to the can, whereafter the can carriage is operated to withdraw the can and permit it to be ejected from the machine.

The can carriage 14 of course operates in synchronism with the can feed mechanism 12 and the plunger 17. For this reason the can carriage 14 is connected by a connecting rod 18 to the upper end of a cam arm 19 which is pivotally connected at its lower end to the frame 10. Intermediate its ends the cam arm 19' is fitted with a cam roller 20 operating in the groove 21 of a box cam 22, which is suitably secured on a continuously operating shaft 23.

It is with the connection between the cam arm 19 and the connecting rod 18 that this application is particularly concerned. This connection is shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 and comprises a bearing 25 having a boss 24: at one end which is thrcadedly or otherwise connected with the connecting rod 18.

The bearing is formed in two parts hinged together as at 26. The two parts of the bearinn; are indicated by the numerals 2'7 and28. The latter is the one which carries the boss 24; which is connected to the connecting rod 18. The other half 2'? of the hearing is capahle'of movement relative to the half 28 .so that the two parts may be spread apart when desired. 7

At the ends of the halves 2'? and 28 adjacent the boss 24 they are formed with a transverse bore 29 to receive a pin carried by V p the upper end of the cam arm 19. It will be noticed that one half of the bore is inv each part of the bearing. The two parts 27 and 28 of the hearing are yieldably heldtogether so as to normallyretain the cam arm cated by the numeral 34. This recess eX- tends from the hinged end of the bearing 5 cent part 27 of the bearing.

end ofthe stud it is formed with a head so pin 80 within the'b ore 29 so that oscillation of i the cam arm will be translated into reciprocation of the connecting rod 18.

To yieldablyhold the two parts of the bearing structure together I provide a stud 31 which extends through both parts 27 and I claim and desire to departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what Patentis:

A device of the character described comprising'a bearing formed of a pair of halves hinged together at one end, a transverse bore formed through the halvesat the other end thereof, and a recess formed between the halves intermediate the bore and the hinged end, means yieldably holding said halves together whereby a pin iournalled in said bore will normally remain journalled therein but may reciprocate between the bore and said recess under abnormal conditions.

. FREDERICK securezby Letters that, the spring 32 w'ill normally yieldably retain the 'two parts-together;

Intermediate their ends the two parts 27 and28 of the bearing are recessed as indi- 28 of the bearing apart and pass into the recess 84, so that the cam arm 19 may oscillate without reciprocating the connecting rod 18.

It is seen that on its outward stroke the pin 30 will spread the halves 2T'and 28 apart t and pass into the recess 34. On its return stroke the pin 30 will engage the cam surfaces 35 andagain spread the bearing parts apart and return into the bore 29. Should theobstruction be removed during one complete cycle of the cam arm, the can carriage Wlll commence operating automatically, but

a it will not operate until the obstruction has been removed, because the pin 30 vwill continue to move freely in the bearing structure until the obstruction has been removed.

While I have shown this bearing structure for use in connection withia can filling machine, I realize that it has a multitude of different uses in connection with other types of machines and may be used without de- 

